


Bring Me Back To Life

by XxToBoldlyGoxX



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Gen, Tarsus IV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-28
Updated: 2016-09-28
Packaged: 2018-08-18 07:49:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8154622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XxToBoldlyGoxX/pseuds/XxToBoldlyGoxX
Summary: In the years following the events of the Tarsus IV massacre, Kevin Riley resides in Starfleet Medical's psychiatric ward as he slowly recovers from the trauma that he faced while living in the colony. As Riley works with Kirk to recount the events of their time on Tarsus IV for Starfleet databases, he finds himself slipping back into the past, reliving the horrors that he and Kirk faced during the famine.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I know Kirk and Riley were much younger in the canon, but I decided to make them quite a bit older to go along better with what I have them do in the story.
> 
> Trigger warning: there are mentions of suicide so if you are sensitive to that kind of thing be aware when reading.

Riley should be dead.

Maybe he already was.

But the tiles on the floor looked too real and there was someone eating a cheeseburger over there-

 _Do they have cheeseburgers in heaven?_ he thought to himself.

"Riley" a soft voice said.

Riley turned his head, tired eyes focusing on a woman beside him, pushing a curtain as she walked.

She stuck out her hand to him which he awkwardly took and he felt his feet begin to move again, each step more painful than the last.

"Did you take your painkillers today?" asked the woman, noticing his struggle.

Riley did not answer, but stared blankly at the white curtain shielding him from view.

"Riley, I asked you a question."

"Yes" he replied.

The woman looked down at his feet, barefoot and bruised and said, "are you sure?"

"I took whatever the good doc gave me" Riley said, his eyes wandering from the white fabric of the curtain to her face.

"okay" she said, calmly.

They continued down the hall; Riley's feet now dragging along the floor.

Had the woman not done this with him every day for the past four years, he would surely have fallen.

She stopped outside of a door which Riley recognized as the entrance to the visitor center.

She let go of the curtain, but made sure to hold onto Riley's hand as she punched in the access code into the keypad on the wall.

The door slid open and she led Riley inside.

Riley stopped and looked back to the curtain swaying in the hallway.

"It's okay, you don't need it. Your visitor is a friend."

Riley nodded and let the woman take him to a table where a handsome young man was seated waiting for him.

Upon seeing Riley, the man perked up and approached him.

The woman let go of Riley's hand and he wobbled where he stood.

"It's good to see you, Riley" said the man, embracing him.

Riley's arms hung limp at his side as though he had no idea what to do, but this didn't seem to bother the man.

The man ended his embrace and helped Riley sit down.

"Kirk, go easy on him. He's having a rough day" whispered the woman as Kirk stood up to find his seat across the table.

Kirk's eyes darted to Riley, who was staring off into space.

He shook his head in acknowledgement and took a seat as the woman retreated into the background.

"Riley" said Kirk.

Riley's fixation on whatever was in front of him did not stop nor did he answer.

Kirk stared down at Riley's wrists which were covered in scars and a few fresh cuts; the results of many failed suicide attempts.

"They look worse than they feel" said Riley, suddenly aware of Kirk's gaze.

He pulled at his sleeves so that they covered the wounds and then looked at Kirk.

"How are things here? Are they treating you good?"

Riley nodded.

Kirk knew they were, but he made a point to ask every time he visited.

"How are you?" Riley asked.

Kirk smiled, "I am well, Riley."

Riley locked eyes with Kirk and said, "have you come to talk more about our experiences on Taurus IV?"

"I'm afraid so."

Riley looked away and sighed.

"If it's too much for you, we can hold off until my next vi-"

Riley raised a hand, "no"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Kirk."

The name "Kirk" felt weird on his lips as though it belonged to a stranger and not the man sitting in front of him.

"Do you remember where we left off?"

Riley shook his head.

Kirk leaned over and grabbed a notepad and pen from a bag at the base of his chair.

He began flipping through pages full of writing and badly drawn pictures until he came to the last page.

"We left off-"

As he read what he wrote during his last visit, he hesitated continuing, remembering the woman's warning that Riley was having a bad day.

He bit his lip and took a deep breath, "We left off when the food started going bad."

Riley looked away, the white of his eyes bloodshot from all the drugs he was being given.

This pained Kirk, but he knew it was for the best.

Had Riley not been admitted to Starfleet's psychiatric ward, he probably wouldn't be sitting in front of him as he was now.

Kirk waited a moment for Riley to come back to reality before starting up with the day's conversation.

When Riley did, he looked at Kirk confused.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I am Kirk" replied Kirk.

"Oh yes, Kirk!"

Riley was prone to memory loss due to the malnutrition he suffered while on Tarsus IV.

The medication was supposed to be helping, but Riley was still having problems.

When Kirk was sure that Riley knew who he was, he clicked his pen, flipped the page of his notepad and begin writing the date and time.

"Riley, do you remember when the food started going bad?"

Riley gestured with his head that he knew what Kirk was talking about.

"Can you tell me about it?"

Riley glanced around the room, and then back at Kirk.

"Yes" he said.

Kirk began scribbling away at his notepad.

Riley didn't say much, but what he did say was just enough.

As Kirk wrote notes, Riley seemed to be disappearing within himself.

 

  
"What do you reckon it is?"

"I don't know, but I've never seen anything like it."

A group of elders were examining a bag of rice which had mysteriously turned black and gone bad.

"Well, whatever it is, it's ruined another bag of rice. Riley, can you please toss it with the rest of them?"

"Yes ma'am" said Riley, getting up from the spot he was sitting.

He lifted the bag of rice and took it outside to dispose of it in the designated trash area.

As he approached the pile, his nose registered the familiar smell of rotting food.

He was used to it now as this had been his 24th trash run in two months.

He threw the rice bag into the pile, the bag breaking in mid air and black specs raining down on him.

He looked down at the other foods in the pile; loaves of bread, a couple heads of lettuce, close to a three dozen eggs.

"Such a waste" he said, heading back to where the Elders were meeting when he felt the presence of someone walking beside him.

"Doing your usual trash run, Kev?"

"How many times have I told you not to call me by my first name?"

Kirk put his arm around Riley and laughed.

"I know, but it's just so much fun messing with you" he said, fluffing Riley's hair.

Riley rolled his eyes.

"You're such a child."

"Not for much longer. I'll be eighteen soon. You on the other hand have quite a way to go."

"Five years."

"Like I said, a _long_ way to go."

They entered the elder's tent to find it nearly empty except for a couple elders sitting at a table examining a rather disgusting looking tomato.

"Any idea what's going on with the food?" asked Kirk, sitting beside a be-speckled old man looking through a microscope.

"I'm afraid we're no closer than we were yesterday" he said, looking up from his work, taking his glasses off and wiping them with a cloth.

"Do you mind if I take a look" Kirk asked.

"Go right ahead" the man said, moving aside so Kirk could have a better view.

Kirk squinted and peered through the tiny opening at the top of the microscope.

"Do you have any ideas what it is, Kirk?" asked the man.

"No."

"How about you have a look, Riley" said the man as Kirk got up.

Riley shrugged and took Kirk's place.

He looked through the microscope and watched as small black circles danced in front of his eyes.

"I haven't the slightest idea either" replied Riley.

The man sighed.

"We have some of the best scientists in the galaxy here and yet we can't figure out what is destroying our crops and making our food go bad."

"You'll figure it out" said Kirk as he and Riley left them to their work.

 

  
"Hey Riley, you still with me bud?" asked Kirk, becoming aware of the vacant look in friend's eyes.

He squeezed his hand, but Riley did not squeeze back.

"I think that's enough for today, Kirk" said the woman, pushing a wheelchair towards their table.

Kirk closed his notepad and stood up to help her get Riley into the chair.

Riley sat slumped, his head leaning towards one side.

Kirk kneeled in front of him.

"I'll be back next week, okay?"

Riley's eyes moved slightly so that they were level with Kirk's.

"I'd like that" he said.

Kirk smiled and hugged him.

While Kirk went one way, the woman and Riley went another.

She wheeled him down the hallway they had walked earlier that morning.

"I thought today was going to be really rough for you, but you actually did good."

Riley looked at her and smiled.

She took him to his room and helped him out of the chair and into his bed.

"Lunch will be served soon-"

"I'm not hungry."

"Riley, you need to eat."

"I said, I'm not hungry."

He sounded angry, but she knew not to take it personally.

"Sweet dreams, Riley" she said as the door slid closed behind her.

The lights turned off automatically and Riley slowly drifted to sleep.

 

  
Kirk returned the following week just as he had promised.

Riley looked better than Kirk had seen him in a long time and this made him optimistic.

As he had hoped, Riley was way more talkative than usual and was able to provide him with much more information than previous meetings.

 

 "I've got the answer!" yelled a woman in the elder's tent.

Kirk and Riley, who were sorting through files, jumped up from where they were sitting and bolted to a table where a small group had formed around a woman with petri dishes scattered in front of her.

"What is it?" asked the man with the spectacles.

"It's a fungus" she said, pointing to one of the petri dishes and then to a picture in a book nearby.

The two were identical.

"A fungus?" asked Riley.

"Yes, it's one of the most exotic kinds which is why we couldn't figure out what it was."

"Is it harmful?" asked Kirk.

"I'm afraid so" she said pointing to a passage in the book which read, "do not consume. will result in instant death."

"Then we were smart to throw out all the food that was infected?"

"Yes" she said.

Kirk peered at Riley.

"Good job garbage man."

 

 Four months passed and although the problem with the food had been solved, things were worse than ever.

The amount of food the colonists had to throw out was monumental meaning that some peoople were limited to one meal a day or no food at all.

"I hate that you can see my ribs now" said Riley, staring at himself in a mirror.

"You're telling me" said Kirk, examining his own frail figure.

Both boys had lost at least twenty pounds and were barely recognizable now.

"I wonder what's for dinner tonight" said Riley.

"It's Tuesday," replied Kirk, "our section doesn't get to eat today, remember?"

"Oh yeah" Riley said, sadly.

"It's a shame we have to wait so long for Starfleet to show up with supplies" said Kirk.

Riley laid down on Kirk's bed and propped his feet up.

"It's not fair" he said.

"I know, but there's nothing we can do about it."

All of a sudden, Riley's eyes grew wide and he sat up.

"Well, we could always steal food from other sections" he said.

"You've got to be joking."

"No, think about it, Kirk" he began, "It's currently only 3:30, with dinner being served at 5:00. The elders probably haven't started prepping meaning that no one will be watching the food right now."

"You're right, but it's too risky."

"I've lived like this already for four months, and I don't know how much longer my body can take it."

Kirk surveyed his friend.

"You know what the punishment is if we get caught."

"Yes" replied Riley, "but we won't."

"We won't what?"

"Get caught."

 

"You grab the produce and I'll get everything else" said Riley, eyeing the section of the colony appointed to food.

"Deal" said Kirk.

Riley got up from his hiding place and approached a large trunk.

He looked around to make sure no one was watching and then opened it and began shoveling whatever he could fit into the bag he had brought.

He rotated his head to see Kirk doing the same with the produce.

When Riley's bag was full, he made his way to Kirk who was still stuffing his bag.

"Hurry up" said Riley.

"Sorry, I'm just trying to make the most out of this endeavor" said Kirk.

He grabbed one last head of kale and then closed the trunk.

"Now let's get out of here"

"Not so fast!" a voice said.

"Damn" said Riley.

"Riley, I thought you said no one would be here?" said Kirk, panicking.

"I thought so too."

"What do we do?"

"Run!" said Riley.

They took off running with the voice yelling after them.

Through crowds of people and past makeshift graves, they sprinted.

"Come on Kirk, we're almost there!" said Riley, enthusiastically.

"Kirk?" Riley said again when there was no reply.

Looking beside him, Riley realized that Kirk was not there.

He stopped mid run and began frantically looking around.

"Kirk!" he yelled.

There was no time to wait for Kirk because even though the Elder did not see their faces, if he didn't already capture him, then he was surely looking for Riley.

Riley ran all the way to his tent which was on the far edge of the colony.

His parents were inside tidying up when he arrived.

"Riley, are you okay?" asked his mother, noticing how out of breath he was and the bag in his hand.

"Yeah" he said, setting the bag on the table.

"What in the world, where did you get all this?" she asked as he unzipped it to reveal food, much of it smashed.

Riley leaned over and placed his hands on his knees in order to catch his breath.

"You didn't steal it, did you?" asked his father.

"I'm afraid I did"

"Riley!" said his mother, standing him up straight and hugging him tightly.

She traced her fingers along his spine which was protruding more than usual and started to cry.

"I have to eat," he said, placing his hands on her cheeks, "and you do too."

She stared at the bag on the table and then at her husband.

"Did you act along?" she asked, sifting through the contents of the bag.

"No, Kirk was with me."

"Kirk? Oh god, Riley-"

"There was no way I could have grabbed it all by myself."

"Where is Kirk now?" asked his father, biting into a piece of bread with cheese.

"I don't know. We got seperated when we were running away."

His mother stared up at the heavens, "I hope for that poor boy's sake that he didn't get caught"

"Me too, Mom, me too"

 

 The next day Riley went around to the less fortunate tents and passed out the remainder of the food his parents did not claim.

His last stop was Kirk's tent.

He wasn't sure what he'd find when he entered, but he was prepared for the worst.

"Kirk?" he said, his voice relaxed and eyes wandering around the room.

He found Kirk fast asleep on his bed.

As he approached him, his worst fears became a reality.

Kirk's thin back was covered in multiple lashes and beside him lay the green shirt he had worn the day before, dyed red with blood.

Riley wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come.

He took a seat at the foot of Kirk's bed and waited there until he woke up.

"Hey" said Kirk, opening his eyes, but not turning over onto his back.

"Hi" replied Riley.

He half expected Kirk to be mad at him, but Kirk seemed far from it.

"You know, I never thought they'd whip a kid. I assumed that was only for adults and that they had a less severe punishment for children and teenagers, but I guess I was wrong."

Riley found his eyes moving to Kirk's back.

"About that. I am so, so sorry. It should have been me that got whipped, not you."

"Nah."

"What?" said Riley, halfway shocked.

"I deserved it as much as anyone, and it was a good idea. We just didn't think it through in case something went wrong."

"It looks like it hurts."

"It does, but I should be back to normal in a couple of days."

He sighed and Riley watched as his body trembled.

"Was everyone happy with the food?"

"Yes, very happy. Some people even cried."

"You don't say" said Kirk.

"It made me feel good to know that I helped."

"Me too."

Kirk yawned and closed his eyes.

"I'm going to go. You get some rest" said Riley, covering his friend with a blanket and leaving a loaf of bread and some jam on the table before exiting the tent.

 

  
"How come you weren't mad at me that day?" asked Riley.

Kirk put the pen down and made eye contact with Riley.

"Because it wasn't your fault. You were just trying to help and I have to applaud that. Me getting caught had nothing to do with you."

Riley grinned.

"Would you like to continue or call it good for today?"

"I'd like to continue."

Kirk picked up the pen and begin writing as Riley spoke.

 

 

"Kirk, wake up"

Kirk opened his eyes and Riley came into view.

"Riley, it's 2:00 in the morning. Whatever you have to tell me can wait."

He turned over so that he was facing away from him.

"No, it can't. It's about Kodos. He's killing off colonists."

"He's what?" yelled Kirk, suddenly wide awake.

"Be quiet!" Riley warned as Kirk sat up.

"How do you know?" Kirk asked, much quieter.

"I saw it with my own eyes."

Kirk stared at him in disbelief.

"I didn't want to believe it either, but-"

"Can you take me there?"

Riley nodded, "yes, but you have to make sure to stay absolutely quiet"

"Promise."

Kirk followed Riley out of the tent.

They tiptoed through the maze of tents until they came to a secluded area far from the camp.

"Over here" Riley said, positioning himself behind a large pile of wood and motioning for Kirk to do the same.

Kirk did as he was told and the two of them sat, peering through a crack in the pile, waiting for something to happen.

In a matter of minutes, the darkness in front of them grew bright.

"Oh my god" said Kirk as his eyes adjusted to what was in front of him.

A group of six or so men were leading a much larger group of people; their hands tied and cloths over their heads.

The men stopped in the clearing and the people were forced to their knees.

Their covers were removed and Kirk gasped, realizing that many were women and children, their heads shaved and faces badly beaten.

Most of the children were crying and the ones that weren't stood shaking, their eyes glued to their feet.

Another man appeared, his back to Kirk and Riley, but both recognized his voice as belonging to Kodos.

"My dear colonists" he said, "as you are aware we have suffered quite the food shortage."

He looked around, but no one made eye contact.

"I tried to think of a way to solve this dilemma, but nothing came to mind"

He turned slightly and for the first time since arriving on Tarsus, they got a good look at their leader's face.

He looked to be about forty, maybe older with red hair, a mustache, and beard.

His smile was warm and he held himself with dignity and grace.

"It wasn't until I was reading one of my favorite books," he started again, "that I came across a passage about eugenics and I found my answer. You see, this is a matter of survival of the fittest."

The men had started putting the covers back over the colonist's faces

Kirk, knowing what was to come, instinctively lifted his hands to cover his eyes, but try as he might, he couldn't look away.

"The weakest of a species will never survive" said Kodos, the smile on his face disappearing, but a look of pure satisfaction replacing it.

"Thank you for your allegiance" he said, moving out of the way so that Kirk and Riley could no longer see him.

The men began taking out their phasers and the colonists started struggling, some screaming to God to give them mercy while others began sobbing hysterically.

It was over in a matter of seconds.

The night was illuminated by simultaneous phaser blasts and Kirk watched in horror as the people in front of him disintegrated.

He tried getting up, but Riley held him down.

"Are you crazy!?" he said, quietly but firmly.

"Riley, all those people were just murdered. We've got to tell somebody!"

"Who are we going to tell?"

"I don't know! One of the elders."

"For all we know, they could already be dead!" Riley cried out.

Kirk's expression changed from one of anger to one of despair.

"How long do you think this has been going on for?"

"I'm not sure, but we'll know it hasn't stopped when colonists start dropping like flies."

 

Over the next couple weeks, half the colonists seemed to have disappeared and those that were still around seemed to be getting worried.

The colony was eventually split into two groups; the "more necessary" and the "less necessary" with those in the "less necessary" group being put to death.

"I can't believe we're in the "less necessary" group."

"It's because we're kids" said Kirk.

Riley stood up, but had to brace himself against the tent wall to keep from falling over.

While the food had lasted him and his family a couple months, being in the "less necessary" group meant that food was limited again.

Kirk, although weighing more than Riley, was just as weak or weaker than him.

"When do you think we'll be executed?"

"Probably when Kodos finds no need for us."

"Well, he better do it soon or I'm going to die on my own of starvation."

There was truth in his statement as many of the colonists that hadn't been executed had died due to health problems related to starvation.

They stood in Kirk's tent watching as group after group was led to their deaths, each one more heartbreaking than the last.

One group made up entirely of children much younger than him made Kirk vomit.

It took everything in Riley's power not to do the same.

Kirk wiped his mouth and went to sit on his bed.

Riley sat beside him and waited till he had calmed down before speaking.

"It's not fair."

"No, it really isn't" said Kirk "they're just children. They don't know any better."

"I wish someone would kill Kodos."

"Me too, but no one has ever gotten close enough to do it."

"It'll happen eventually" said Kirk, suddenly distracted by something outside.

"What is it?" asked Riley, leaning forward so he could see past him.

Outside the tent stood another group; this one full of elderly, but at the end of the line was Riley's parents.

"Mom, Dad" Riley said.

Before Kirk could say anything, Riley was already to his feet, running as fast as his skinny limbs would take him.

"STOP!" he yelled, causing the entire progression to pause.

The men escorting the colonists armed their phasers and pointed them at Riley.

"Riley, what are you doing here? You need to leave" said his mother, distressed.

"No, I'm not going anywhere without you" he replied.

"You need to listen to your mother. Get out of here, son!" said his father.

Riley ignored their requests and stayed put.

One of the men holding a phaser approached the three of them and began circling them.

"Oh, I get it, this is your boy" he said, standing directly in front of Riley and looking him up and down.

Riley tried to show that he wasn't afraid even though deep down he was terrified.

Kirk stood outside of his tent watching, his heart racing.

The man put the phaser up to Riley's head and his parents cried out in fear.

"Please don't kill him" his mother begged.

"If you say so" said the man, dropping the phaser from Riley's head and instead pointing it at her.

He pulled on the trigger and Riley screamed as his mother dropped dead at the man's feet.

"You're next" the man said, pointing it at Riley's father and killing him as well.

Tears fell down Riley's cheeks as he threw himself at the man.

He wasn't big enough to knock the man over on his own, but luckily for him, the man stumbled, dropping his phaser.

"Kirk, grab his phaser!" Riley yelled, pinning the man down with what little strength he had left.

The man flipped Riley over and lifted his fist in the air to punch him, but Riley moved over and the man punched the ground, causing the skin on his knuckle to crack and bleed.

"Nice one, Riley" said Kirk, shooting the man in the back with his own phaser.

"Thanks." said Riley, "now to take care of the other guards."

They were approaching fast and the colonists stood, huddled together watching every move with baited breath.

"I've got an idea" said Riley, and he set about running towards the men.

"What are you doing?" Kirk shrieked after him.

"Trust me, okay?"

The men armed their phasers once more and pointed them directly at Riley.

"Ready for some target practice?" Riley yelled.

"You bet I am" said Kirk, aiming the phaser at the men.

"NOW!" Riley yelled and dove to the ground as the men began firing into the emptiness before them.

Kirk fired again and again, dodging blasts as they came his way, but hitting every single man square in the chest.

"Wow, I wonder where he learned to shoot like that" said Riley, somewhat surprised.

As he got to his feet, the colonists began to cheer. He approached the colonists closest to him and untied their hands.

"Untie the others" he told them to which they nodded.

He stumbled back over to Kirk and gave him a pat on the back before collapsing beside his parents.

Riley stared at their faces, eyes wide open and staring at nothing, but peaceful nonetheless.

Sorrow overcame him and he wailed, causing many of the colonists to stop what they were doing and watch him.

He leaned his head against his mother's and then his father's.

"He will pay for what he has done," he said through tears "I don't know how or when, but he will."

He hugged them as he whispered words of love to them and then stood up with Kirk's help.

The colonists stared at him in silent awe.

Riley used the back of his hand to wipe away his tears and then he faced the anxious group in front of him.

"Go find your families, give them a hug, and make sure to tell them how much you love them" he said, his eyes fixated on his parents.

The group began dispersing, but Kirk became hyper aware of a loud buzzing noise.

"Everyone get down!" he yelled, as a phaser in the crowd overloaded.

He dove to cover Riley, but the blast separated them, sending Riley flying in one direction and him the other.

Riley hit the ground hard and would have been knocked unconscious, had he not put his hands in front of his face to protect his head.

He coughed as dust filled his lungs.

Someone was pulling at his clothes, trying to get him so stand up.

As the dust cleared, he realized it was Kirk.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes" said Riley, "you?"

"I'm fine."

The word "fine" made Riley look around.

The devastation was worse than he thought.

The nearby tents were completely destroyed; their contents, broken and unrecognizable buried in the sand.

Bodies lay scattered in front of him and it wasn't until he realized that Kirk was talking to him that he directed his eyes elsewhere.

"One of the men must have overloaded their phaser before you killed him."

"We would have heard it earlier, though, wouldn't we?" said Riley, looking around suspiciously.

"Uh, Riley" said Kirk, his arm raised and pointing at something behind him. Riley turned on his heels and his eyes grew big.

Coming towards them was a large group of men and woman, all wearing black and holding phasers which were armed.

The survivors of the blast picked up whatever they could find and got behind Kirk and Riley.

One of them handed Riley a phaser.

"Welcome to the end of all things" said Kirk.

Riley swallowed hard.

Kirk reached out to him and said, "I love you kid. You're like a brother to me. I wish I had said those things more often."

"Ah, stop with the sob story."

It was then that Riley became aware of the colonists staring at him as though waiting for him to give them some sort of direction.

"Say something" said Kirk when Riley just stood there.

Riley looked over Kirk's shoulder at the impending threat and then back at the colonists.

"For Taurus IV!" he yelled, throwing his fist in the air and beginning to run towards the enemy.

Kirk and the rest of the colonists followed.

Riley aimed and fired and one of the women in black stumbled over backwards into the sand.

Phaser blasts erupted from the opposing side and was reciprocated by the colonists.

People from both sides fell left and right like dominoes.

Riley and Kirk stood back to back, rotating and shooting at everyone that pointed a phaser their way.

"I was meaning to ask, where did you learn to shoot like that?" asked Riley as Kirk took down three people in a couple of seconds.

"Growing up in Iowa, you learn how to shoot at a young age" he replied.

"Got it" said Riley.

A man aimed his phaser at Riley, but Kirk was quick to cut him down.

Kirk was overwhelmed by people in black leaving Riley to fend for himself.

Riley wasn't nearly as good as Kirk when it came to shooting, but he wasn't terrible either.

"Kirk, look out!" yelled Riley as a man wielding a knife ran towards the two of them.

Kirk whipped around and quickly shot him down.

As the man fell to the ground, Kirk realized that almost all of the men and women in black had resorted to using knives instead of phasers.

"Well I'll be damned" he said, "wasn't expecting any hand to hand combat."

"Me either" said Riley, shrugging.

Regardless of this newfound realization, Kirk and Riley kept on fighting with a combination of fists and phasers.

Each punch brought fresh blood to Kirk's knuckles and his clothing was torn in multiple spots from failed attempts at blocking the knives directed at him.

"Look at Kodos, the coward, he can't even show up to his own war!" said Riley, noticing their leader had yet to make an appearance.

He laughed loudly, but it was short lived for he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen.

Instinctly, he reached down and his hands felt the wooden hilt of a knife which had been embedded in his skin.

He looked around at the people still fighting who really didn't look much like people at all, but moving blobs of energy that were illuminated every few seconds by phaser blasts.

He wondered where Kirk was in all this madness.

Kirk realizing Riley had disappeared from view, looked over his shoulder and saw him clutching his stomach, his phaser in the dirt below him.

"Riley!" he gasped.

"Kirk, help me" said Riley, stumbling backwards.

Kirk pushed through the crowd, shooting whoever got in his way of getting to his friend.

Riley was expecting to feel the hard ground beneath him, but instead he felt Kirk's arms around him, supporting him as he fell.

Kirk quickly laid Riley in his lap and began to access the damage that had been done.

"Oh god" he said, noticing the knife which Riley's hands were still tightly wrapped around.

Kirk hesitated as he knew that removing the blade might cause Riley to bleed to death, but despite this, he persisted.

He gently removed Riley's hands and wrapped his own shaking hands around the hilt.

"I'm sorry, kid" he said, bracing himself for Riley's reaction.

With one swift pull, the knife came out.

Riley howled in pain and Kirk threw the knife and then began applying pressure to his wound.

Riley looked up at him, tears streaming down his face. His breath was now labored and his eyes were struggling to stay open.

Kirk lifted his hand and felt a lump form in his throat as he realized the pressure he had applied had done nothing to stop the bleeding.

"Shit" said Kirk under his breath.

The battle had not ceased around them, but instead continued with more people on both sides showing up all the while.

"Am I going to die?" Riley asked.

"Not if I have anything to do with it" said Kirk.

Kirk peered down at the Riley's feeble body in his arms; it felt like that of a child, not a thirteen year old boy.

"If I do die, at least I'll be with my parents."

The thought made Riley smile.

"You're not going to die" said Kirk, though he had a hard time believing his own words.

Riley's eyelids flickered over his eyes and his breath was diminishing faster as each second went by.

His once clean shirt was now covered in dirt and blood.

"I'm so tired, Kirk" said Riley.

"I know you are, but you've got to hold on. Just a little bit longer."

"I don't know if I can"

"Please, you have to. I can't lose you."

Kirk was becoming frantic.

"How ironic that neither Kodos nor starvation killed me, but a stab wound to the chest."

He seemed amused by this, but the pained expression on his face told Kirk otherwise.

His body was beginning to grow cold in Kirk's arms. "Please don't leave me. Please, I'm begging you" he stated to Riley.

He pulled the boy closer to him and hugged him tightly.

As he let go of him, he noticed that Riley's eyes had closed and his body had gone stiff.

"Riley?" he asked, voice shaking and tears forming in his eyes.

Riley lay still.

Kirk hung his head over his deceased friend and cried.

Phaser blasts shot past his head and deep down he hoped that one would hit him.

Why should he live when so many others had died? A sudden bright light caused him to look up.

For a minute he thought he was hallucinating, because it couldn't be-

A ship.

Not just one, but many.

It was Starfleet with supplies.

They had come early.

The phaser fire had stopped, and the black shirts and dirty outfits of the colonists were overpowered by by groups of people in blue and yellow.

"Are you in need of assistance?" said a young man in a blue uniform as he approached Kirk.

"Yes" said Kirk, nodding his head repeatedly, unable to believe what was happening.

The man sat beside Kirk and quickly looked over both he and Riley. He lifted Riley from Kirk's arms and Kirk let him without hesitation.

He said something to another man in blue and then went on his way.

"Where is he taking him?" Kirk asked, trying to see where the man carrying Riley was going as the other man checked him out more thoroughly.

"To the ship to be evaluated."

"He's dead, there's not much that needs evaluating."

"My boy, he's not dead."

Kirk's face lit up, "not dead?"

The man in blue shook his head, "he has significant internal bleeding and is having trouble regulating his temperature-"

"can you save him?" Kirk asked, cutting the man off.

"We will do everything we can, but I would say there's a good chance."

Kirk closed his eyes as the tears began to form.

"Do you mind if I give you a light sedative?"

"Go right ahead. I want this nightmare to be over"

The man nodded and pulled a hypo out of his bag and jabbed it into Kirk's neck.

Kirk was laid on a stretcher and as he floated behind the man in blue, he became aware of the destruction this war had caused; bodies from both sides lay scattered across the land and the tents they had once lived in had holes in the fabric, the belongings inside burned.

As he was lifted into the shuttle craft, he became aware of Riley beside him.

He stuck out his hand and grabbed Riley's, squeezing it as he fell into unconsciousness.

 

 

The injured were taken to Starfleet's Medbay and treated while many remained behind on Tarsus IV and with Starfleet's help begin rebuilding the colony they had lost.

Riley had been placed in a medically induced coma, but woke up three months later hooked up to IVs.

Kirk, who had been released a month earlier, was sitting at the foot of his bed, anxiously awaiting for him to come to.

"It's about time you woke up. I thought I'd be eighteen by the time you did."

Riley stared intently at Kirk's face as though he didn't recognize him.

"And you are?"

"Come on Riley, it's me, Kirk!"

"I don't know anyone named Kirk."

Those six words changed Kirk's whole demeanor.

"Of course you do."

"No, I don't."

"We were taken off of Tarsus IV because Kodos-"

"What is Tarsus IV and who the hell is Kodos?"

Kirk was beginning to realize that Riley really had no idea who anyone was.

"I'll be right back" said Kirk, even though he wasn't sure if Riley even cared or not.

 

 "What do you mean his memory may be affected?"

"Well, he was nearing starvation when he was brought in and-"

"So was I and my memory is just fine."

"Mr. Kirk," said the doctor, "people react to stress in different ways. Riley is in his early teenage years and his body is still developing. That much stress at one time could kill anyone, especially a teenager."

"Is he ever going to get his memory back?" was Kirk's next question.

"Only time can tell."

Kirk stood up to leave, but paused in the doorway.

"One last question before I go back in there"

"Ask away."

"Any word on Kodos?"

The doctor nodded.

"My team discovered a body they think belongs to Kodos. The body was set on fire and is very charred making it difficult to identify, but our forensics team is doing their best to figure out who it is."

"Thank you sir."

"You're welcome, Kirk."

 

 Within a couple of weeks, Riley was placed in a housing suite at the hospital.

He would have been released to live with relatives, but his memory had not improved as much as the doctors had hoped, making them fear for his abilities to function in society.

Riley would often express his distaste about his current situation to Kirk, who would listen as though he hadn't heard the exact same thing the day before.

"It's horrible. They have no faith in me. I know I can function in society" he said, pacing back and forth in the living room of his suite.

"You're right, you can, but they just want to make sure you're alright."

"Alright?" he said, raising his voice, "I am alright and I've been alright!"

He was prone to fits of anger which Kirk had to try his best not to take to heart.

Over time, Riley seemed to be getting worse instead of better.

On one particular day Kirk had brought Riley lunch, only to find him sitting in the bathroom, the mirror broken, glass on the floor, and blood on his hands.

"I saw him" said Riley, tilting back and forth.

"Saw who?"

"The man that killed my parents."

"How do you remember that?"

"I remember everything."

He looked at the blood on his hands and then at the glass on the floor.

He picked a piece up and looked at his reflection.

"I'm not crazy" he muttered, climbing to his feet and approaching Kirk with the piece of glass still in his hand.

"Riley, what are you doing?" he said, backing yo towards the door.

"I want you to feel what I feel!" Riley yelled, lunging at Kirk.

Kirk dodged him and Riley fell.

Riley quickly got to his feet and put the shard of glass up to his throat.

"Do you know what it's like not to remember anything?"

"Put the piece of glass down, Riley"

"To wake up in the middle of the night screaming because of a nightmare you have that may or may not have actually happened?"

Kirk held his hand out as he closed in on Riley.

"I won't say it again, give me the glass."

Riley shook his head.

"To feel nothing would be the greatest gift of all."

Riley lifted his hand and did a cutting motion, but before the glass could touch his throat, a doctor had knocked him over and was sedating him with a hypo while another handcuffed him.

Kirk stood by completely paralyzed.

 

"I know it hurts you to see him like this" said the doctor as he and Kirk sat in his office,"but he is really sick and he needs professional help beyond my expertise."

"Where will he go?"

"To Starfleet's psychiatric ward for further treatment."

Kirk looked down.

"You have a good heart, Mr. Kirk."

"Sometimes I wish I didn't have a heart at all."

 

 

Riley looked deeply saddened as Kirk repeated the statement to him.

There was silence as Kirk wrote a last note and put both the pen and the pad of paper back into his bag.

"I'm glad your heart is so big. It makes up for the both of us" said Riley, his expression much softer now.

Kirk stared at his friend and imagined what kind of man he would be had the events of Tarsus IV not happened.

Riley was still thin, though not nearly as thin as he had been back on the planet.

"Well, I must go. Starfleet needs this report.

He stood up and stretched.

"Hey Kirk, why did you wait so long to give them a report?"

"I wasn't ready to talk about it" he replied, honestly, "and I didn't think you were either."

"You're right. I wasn't" replied Riley, getting to his feet on his own.

Kirk walked over to his friend and hugged him tightly. Riley wrapped his arms around his friend.

"Goodbye Kevin."

"Goodbye Jim."

Kirk ended the embrace and started to walk away, but Riley's voice stopped him, "if you ever decide to do something with your life, let me know."

"I will, Riley."

Kirk left the room, his bag in hand, leaving his good friend standing there.

 

 

Fifteen years later...

 

"Riley, come in here and let me have a look at you!"

Riley entered his aunt's living room and she began shrieking with excitement.

"Oh sweetie, you look so handsome!"

"Do I really?" asked Riley.

"I wouldn't lie to you" said his aunt, getting up from the couch where she was sitting and coming over to him.

She brought him before a mirror and made him look at himself.

Riley stared at himself thoroughly; yellow shirt with the Starfleet insignia, black pants and boots.

"Lieutenant Kevin, Riley" he said, puffing out his chest and standing up straight.

"It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?" he asked his aunt.

She beamed at him, "yes, it does."

 

 As they drove to the landing platform, Riley stared out the window at the city outside.

He never in a million years would have imagined he'd be on his way to board a starship, let alone the enterprise.

After spending seven years in the psychiatric ward, he had been approved to move in with his mom's sister.

Kirk wrote to him often about his time at Starfleet Academy and how he hoped to be a starship captain.

Kirk's dream ultimately came true and it gave Riley the inspiration he needed to get back on his feet.

He had worried they wouldn't let him enroll due to his past mental instability, but was surprised after a series of tests that they not only allowed him to enroll, but found him fit for duty.

Riley directed his attention to his aunt who was smiling, but her eyes held a faint sense of sadness.

After all Riley had been through, she had become his saving grace.

Upon arriving at the platform, his aunt began to cry.

Riley felt bad for abandoning her, but she assured him that she would be alright and that his happiness was all that mattered.

He waved his last goodbyes and watched as the started the car and made her way back home.

 

Riley made his way towards the ship, but stopped suddenly, his heart heavy and chest paining him.

He placed a hand on his chest where years earlier he had been shot by a phaser.

The scar still pained him every once in a while.

He took a deep breath and pulling his bag over his shoulder headed inside.

The platform was full of people from all walks of life.

He looked around, enamored by all that was in front of him.

And that's when he saw it.

_The enterprise._

It was the most beautiful thing Riley had ever seen.

Riley approached the ship, but was stopped by a man with a clipboard.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm here for check in."

"Name please."

"Riley. Kevin, Riley."

The man looked over the clipboard and then smiled.

"Welcome aboard, Lieutenant Riley."

Riley thanked him and entered the ship.

People were frantically running every which way, but Riley chose to walk.

He walked down the hallway, taking in each every detail it had to offer.

As he turned the corner, he came face to face with Kirk talking to a man with points on his ears.

"Captain, I do not find your idea to be very logical."

"As the captain, I think I know what I'm doing."

"Permission to speak freely."

"You're already talking, but go right ahead."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but our conversation is being listened in on by a rather young lieutenant."

Kirk and the man with the pointed ears looked to Riley.

Kirk's eyes grew big.

"Riley?" he asked, coming towards him.

"Yeah, it's me."

"You look good" said Kirk, admiring his outfit and how strong he looked.

"Now I do, but back then-"

"You know this man, Captain?"

"Yes, he is an old friend" said Kirk.

Riley eyed the other man in the room suspiciously.

"Oh, where are my manners. Riley, this is Commander Spock."

"How do you do?" said Riley.

"Quite well" replied Spock.

Kirk placed a hand on Riley's shoulder, "I'm happy to have you aboard."

"And I'm happy to have you as my captain. I owe you my life, Kirk."

Kirk shook his head.

"No, you owe yourself. You fought to survive and you made it, kid."

Spock stood in the background, looking confused by the sudden out pour of emotion.

"I must go as there are many things to be done before we take off, but I want you to know that I'm really proud of you."

"Thank you, Ki-Captain."

Kirk smiled, "No need to be formal. You can call me Kirk."

"Okay, Kirk."

He left the room with Spock following behind him.

Riley stayed put for a moment for Kirk was right.

He rolled up his sleeves and stared at the scars still present on his skin.

He tried not to look at them often because they made him sick thinking about his past experiences, but today he didn't care.

They were proof that he was a survivor and although the things he had been through would be etched in his brain for the rest of his life, he wouldn't let them destroy him as they once had.

He was a Starfleet officer now and that's all that mattered.


End file.
